HEAD LICE -- we have been exposed - ADVICE?

[Grumpy's Gal]

We had a sleep over on the weekend and have since found out that one of the little girls has head lice.

I have NO experience with this -- what should I do first? laundry? vacuum? Any advice for this at all?

 

[mickeyboat]

That's a tough one. I would hate for you to do a ton of work and find that you didn't get it.

Did the little girl use a particular pillow, blanket, stuffed animal? Launder what you can and put what you can't in a plastic bag for two weeks. Vacuum all of your carpets.

The little girl we carpooled with last year got it, and I freaked out. This is what I did:

I checked the kids several times every day. I bought a couple of kits to have on hand just in case. I bought some spray and sprayed the car seat she used and the bench seat in my minivan. I took it out and put it in the driveway when I sprayed it, and made sure it was good and dry before I put it back in. We never got it.

But your exposure looks like it was a lot closer than mine. Good luck.

Denae

 

[pattyT]

I have a lice-phobia -

so when our neighbor (who we carpool with) called to tell us her dd had it I was
ultimately we did not get it .
but in my online search for info I found
http://www.headlice.org/

 

[SueM in MN]

I have a lice-phobia -

so when our neighbor (who we carpool with) called to tell us her dd had it I was
ultimately we did not get it .
but in my online search for info I found
http://www.headlice.org/

That is a very good website.
It has good pictures and factual information. The organization was actually begun about 20 years ago by a group of mothers and public health people who were concerned about making sure people had factual information.

 

[ElizaB39]

We were exposed but never got it. This is what I did.

Got the head lice treatment from the drugstore and used it on DD even though she had no signs of lice or nits.

Put all of the bedding that was exposed in the dryer on high heat for 1/2 hour

Vacuumed all the carpets (make sure to dispose of the bag or else they will live in there.

Washed all clothes that were incontact with the child, again hot water high heat.

My best friend;s daughter did get lice and the cleaning and laundry took 2-3 hours every night. They were all exhausted and did this for two weeks. Plus it was in winter so all the coats and outer gear went into the dryer every night for 30 min on high. Bed comforters were in the dryer every morn for 30 on high. Every stitch of clothing was washed every day as well. They washed bed clothes every morning, and remade beds every night, and vacuumed every single day and threw the bag away every single time. YUKCK!

 

[pattyT]

I once treated with pharmacy stuff when it wasn't needed
and dang did I get an earful of crap for doing that....
from a friend who works for social services and from my own DR...

the chemicals in that stuff is NOT good for the kiddos - so if you can avoid doign that you should...
also the lice can not live for 24 hours off the body - they need the heat... so some behaviors can be considered excessive...

 

[fanofdisney]

Wash everyone's hair in vinegar. Launder everything that was exposed in hot water. Then call your pharmacist or doctor for a suggestion as to whether or not you should treat with an over the counter kit just to be safe.

 

[Amlee]

FYI! If by chance you are pregnant. Don't go NEAR the over the counter stuff!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Lucky you! My Christmas break was blessed with my step-daughter being sent to us, with a head-full of them! Yeah, that was one nice present from Santa (DH's ex-wife).

It was my second time to deal with them. As far as preventing them, I don't have any advice the others haven't already mentioned, although I disagree with using the pesticide on your child's hair, with no sign of lice being present. The stuff is too dangerous, and lice are already becomming immune to the products on the market.

My youngest daughter got them, after spending the night at a neighbor's house. They never did tell me that their daughter had them. I found out after the fact, because ANOTHER neighbor's daughter got the too, after staying over at this particular girl's house.

That was the lice case from he**. Rid didn't work and she had to sleep with mayo in her hair, under a shower cap, for a WEEK. To this day, she gags if she smells mayo. I had to sit and nit pick for almost two weeks before we got them all. Did I mention that DD had wavy, thick, blond hair? They were soooo hard to see.

Stepdaughter's case wasn't as bad. Rid worked and I managed to get all of the nits in one sitting. I was shocked. I was stocked up with mayo and shower caps, preparing for the worst.

Research the life cycle of lice and you'll be better prepared to find them. Good luck!

 

[SamIAm21]

The best advice has already been given and all I can say is wash wash wash, vacuum, vacuum vacuum! A nit comb is a must!

We got it a few years ago about three weeks before Christmas. Uggh! It's worse in the winter because kids share hats and my mom, who is an RN, said the best (worst) place to get them is the movie theater on the seats! UGgggh!

Most lice won't jump off one host and onto another. Why leave a good thing right? But, if you sleep on a pillow, wear someone's hat, swap combs, etc., you can be exposed pretty easily.

 

[Brianne]

All the advice is good--I can't recommend anything more either.

But am I the only one reading this with a really itchy head now?

 

[Cindyluwho]

The website that several others have mentioned is your best bet. www.headlice.org Please, please do not use Rid or other pesticides on your children. Although the chance of death or disability is small - it is very REAL, and definately not worth the risk. You'll always have a few lice that are resistant anyway so it's not worth it at all to use that poison. I'm not some granola head , I'm just being realistic and using poison on a child should not be an option.

 

[Amlee]

But am I the only one reading this with a really itchy head now?

Nope! I can say getting lice is one experiance I NEVER want to repeat!!!


A girl in my brothers 5th Grade class brought them to his class. The oh so smart teacher didn't think anything about letting the kids pile their coats together. : She was about 10 months pregnant at the time. The whole class got sent home from school with notes not to return until all signs of the lice are gone. My mother went NUTS! She burnt everything. Pillows, mattress, sheets, clothes, toys. Everything! The girl that started it all (This was like her 4th time of coming to school with lice that year) came back to school the next day. The poor teacher as pregnant as she was couldn't use the over the counter stuff. Needless to say, the students cubby holes had hooks put in them by the time the students came back.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Wash the linens, and wait for the bugs to show up. I wouldn't treat with Rid or anything else unless the lice appear - you don't want to use that stuff unless you have to. One thing that deters lice are hair products - use gels and hairspray for a while. My dd got head lice in the first grade - it was a breakout in her class - they passed it around to each other via their coats that all hung in the same closet.

 

[floridafam]

Check the hair of everyone in your house for a while.

Treat if you find lice.

Wash everything in hot water and dry on high heat.

Put stuffed animals in the garbage bag for two weeks or throw them away.

Unfortunately, we picked up lice when we lived on the other side of Florida. It was AWFUL! I wanted to cry. We had to treat several times. I was pregnant at the time. I wonder if everything I was exposed to harmed my DD.

We threw a ton of stuff away, mostly stuffed animals. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned our house.

We were told to treat our mattresses and carpet so that is what we did. We sprayed something and then left the house for a day.

The thing that stinks is-if someone has it at my children's school, we don't hear about it. They say it is for the privacy of the student . They don't even send a note home saying someone in the class has lice. What a joke.

I hope you don't get it. Keep us posted.

 

[floridafam]

After our experience, I found out that there is actually a woman in South Florida who treats head lice naturally without any chemicals.

She charges a ton of money but I wish I had known about her.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Got the head lice treatment from the drugstore and used it on DD even though she had no signs of lice or nits.

My dr said DO NOT do this. And I've read many things on the web saying do not do this.

But thank you for your other information. I think I am lice phobic!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Wash everyone's hair in vinegar.

what does the vinegar do? And how? Wash with shampoo first? Then wash with vinegar? then rinse it out or not? Won't you smell like vinegar?

 

[The Dark Dancer]

My friend with extremely thick hair said that when she was little they used mayonnaise on her head...Umm..Eww..Nasty! lol

When we were exposed We bought the lice killing shampoos and we vacuumed and washed sheets, etc. Be sure and comb for knits just in case!

 

[The Dark Dancer]

The website that several others have mentioned is your best bet. www.headlice.org Please, please do not use Rid or other pesticides on your children. Although the chance of death or disability is small - it is very REAL, and definitely not worth the risk. You'll always have a few lice that are resistant anyway so it's not worth it at all to use that poison. I'm not some granola head , I'm just being realistic and using poison on a child should not be an option.

When I began kindergarten, I had long hair, down past my waist, and let's just say the little critters liked me!


If you read the directions carefully and do as they say, it's harmless. If you don't want to do that, call your doctor and ask him to prescribe you some prescription shampoo. But, I guarantee that the prescribed shampoo will have some of the same ingredients and risks.